The return of "drill, baby, drill"?

A $5 per gallon price is posted at a gas station in Belmont, Calif., March 9, 2011.

/ AP Photo

Updated 5:10 p.m. Eastern Time

As gas prices skyrocketed during the 2008 presidential campaign, a chant was often heard at events for the Republican ticket of John McCain and Sarah Palin: "Drill, baby, drill!"

Now that gas prices have once again risen dramatically amid unrest in the Middle East - they are near $4 per gallon in many areas, and the average across the country has gone above $3.50 per gallon - the Republican call for domestic oil drilling has returned. And with it comes criticism of the Obama administration for not doing enough to ease the burden for Americans who have no choice but to fill up the tank.

"The Obama Administration has consistently blocked American energy production that would lower costs and create new jobs," House Speaker John Boehner said Thursday. "They've cancelled leases for new exploration, jeopardized new nuclear energy, and imposed a de facto drilling moratorium. They've even pushed a 'cap and trade' national energy tax that the president himself admitted would cause energy costs to 'skyrocket.'"

Boehner was unveiling what he called the American Energy Initiative, a plan that he says will lower gas prices and create new jobs. It entails expanding American energy production, reversing government policies that he says drive up gas prices, and embarking on an "all of the above" strategy for domestic energy production.

House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio

/ AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Boehner's comments were just one element of a GOP push to attack the Obama administration on gas prices. On Fox Business Network Thursday, Wyoming Republican Sen. John Barrasso said, "what we're doing is spending millions and millions of dollars and sending that money overseas to people who want to blow us up instead of doing what you know we should do, which is exploring for energy offshore, on federal land, and exploring in Alaska."

Rep. Richard "Doc" Hastings (R-WA) said Thursday the instability in the Middle East underscores the need to stop "sitting on all these resources."

Added GOP Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana earlier this week: "What about the Gulf of Mexico? What about all of our other vast energy resources that we are taking off the table and shutting down?"

Republicans are also reacting angrily to calls in some quarters for an increase in gas taxes. Here's California Republican Rep. Devin Nunes, also on Fox Business: "I don't know what planet these people are on, but they are nuts."

He added: "There is a movement in this country, in the halls of Congress, today, by the far left, where they do not want to drill, they want to raise the price of gas because they believe if they do this, this is how you force people on to metro systems, force people on to high-speed rail, force people on to their bicycles and you know, the bad part is I'm not sure that any of these people have they ever had to work in the real world."

Gov. Haley Barbour speaks at a meeting of the Mississippi Energy Policy Institute in Jackson, Miss., Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2011. Barbour says the Gulf Coast oil spill occurred because the companies involved deviated from industry standards, not because of the inherent risk of drilling offshore.

/ AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis

The claim that the Obama administration wants to raise the price of gas has also been made by Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, a potential GOP presidential candidate who said last week that the administration is seeking to do so to force consumers to buy more energy-efficient automobiles. Barbour cites comments in September 2008 by Steven Chu, who is now energy secretary, that "we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe." (Mr. Obama has disavowed those comments.)

The White House has a simple response to these charges: Why, if it is so opposed to domestic energy production, did 2010 see the largest increase in such production since 2003?

White House press secretary Jay Carney disputed Boehner's comments at his press briefing Thursday and pointed out that the Obama administration has issued 37 new offshore shallow water oil drilling permits since the BP oil spill, as well as one deep water permit. He said the administration is committed to more oil production in addition to pursuing other forms of energy production.

According to the government, domestic production rose 3 percent last year, though as NPR notes, "Credit for the increase in onshore production probably belongs less to any administration policy than to advanced drilling techniques, and the higher oil prices that make them worthwhile."

Some Democrats, meanwhile, are pushing the administration to open the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to combat gas prices.

"The rapidly rising price of oil is threatening to imperil a fragile economic recovery and cause more hardship for Vermonters already struggling to make ends meet," says Democratic Rep. Peter Welch of Vermont. "As our three most recent presidents demonstrated, tapping the reserve reduces prices significantly and immediately. In a time of escalating turmoil in the Middle East and rampant oil speculation in markets around the world, now is the time to tap the reserve."

Much of the nuance in the discussion over gas prices will likely be lost as the debate intensifies over the summer, when prices are expected to rise even further. And don't be surprised if those chants of "drill, baby, drill" once again becomes a staple of Republican campaign events in the next presidential campaign cycle.

[mb91764]

We all to blame for our addication to oil.Just look around you at all the stuff we must have thats all come down to being a single piont of oil.Yes, we can all talk the the talk of using less but can you really do it.All the things in your house run on power,could you cut out just a few items?Let me ask a strange one,look at all the extra lights our cities use for nothing.Our whole goverment system is cluless about cutting out the lights.My number one grip is with the soccer moms and there big a$$ suv,do you really need a tank to carry yourselfs around?I have always drove compact cars and trucks,the thing is most of the people I know make fun of me for doing whats right.Still i get a kick when gas gos up to watch the same person complain.I still see huge hummers,running around not the less of the other giants trucks.If we did stop buying the big cars and trucks we end up bailing out the car company again,so we in a lose lose kind of thing in this country.

[tsigili]

As the party who thinks destroying the environment is perfectly Ok, if they can make money from it, the GOP will absolutely try to restart the drilling. The question is, how long before the next environmental disaster????? How big will the disaster be? Will we ever recover from it?

[DrPlanarian]

The notion that oil is created at the earth's center is such nonsense that it brands those expressing it as true ignoramuses.

But I am only an advocate of increased energy taxes as a way to increase badly needed revenue and encourage efficiency, not as a disincentive to drive. I think that there are other areas where revenues can be improved, first and foremost by restoring progressivity to our income tax rate structure and taxing unearned income at the same rate as earned.

But it is very important to improve the efficiency by which we use energy, particularly gasoline. Have you ever noticed that gas prices drop in the fall when the new cars come out. When somebody buys an economy car in reaction to fuel costs he avoids doing what the oil moguls want him to do -- buy an SUV and doom himself to another five or six years of buying three times the gasoline he needs for the same amount of driving. Those Arabs just LOVE that!

[DrPlanarian]

Oh, yes, and we can "drill, baby, drill" our whole country until it looks like a pincushion and it won't drop the price of a gallon of gasoline even by a penny. The amount that will be brought to market will be more than absorbed over the years it will take to bring the oil from newly drilled wells to market by increased consumption, all other things being equal. It is a tiny drop compared to the amount that can be saved by increasing fuel efficiency throughout the fleet.

[RobAla]

Solar and wind forms are totally incapable to meet the energy needs of the United States. They can only supplement a little. I would be all for "green energy" if it could economically meet our energy needs, but we do not yet have the technology to make that happen.

Until then, we have to drill - and we have to unleash US oil companies a bit. We need to open up ANWAR and the Gulf. You have to have the technology first before attempting to make a change in how we meet the energy needs of the nation. You can't just decide to put the gas and oil companies out of business and expect magically that a green form of energy will handle things. This President is very misguided in his thinking.

[RealiteBites]

But Jim, in point #2 you acknowledge that your statistics are for KNOWN reserves - so what would you have against exploration on that basis?

Something else - I know oil is traded on the open market, but how is it that the US is able to boycott oil from Iran, limit purchase from Libya, buy more from Canada, whereas China buys from Iran and Italy buys from Libya, etc if there isn't some sort of mechanism for countries to exhibit a geopolitical preference?

[jimbom121]

First off, oil companies typically do not want to drill in unproven reserves because of the fact that they do not know if there is oil, if the oil is usable or how much. If they don't beleive that they can make miney off it, they won't drill. Even if they do, it takes anywhere from 18months to several years for them to actually get oil from any reserves...again depending on how deep you have to drill.

We do buy some oil from Iran through OPEC.

[RealiteBites]

This could so easily be rendered a non-issue by 'triangulating' it away.

Why now max out drilling and exploration ... combined with a repeal of all those tax breaks to oil and gas companies. The additional revenue could then be earmarked for increased oversight of safety measures, with the remainder being invested in the research of alternative energy.

It's good politics too isn't it? Does Pres. Obama really want to take the chance that high prices could adversely impact his chances of re-election?

[jimbom121]

Well oil production is up, and its at its highest since 2003 (US Energy Dept).

The repeal of the subsidies got rejected by the house last week.

[jimbom121]

Perhaps Boehner & Vitter, etc should actually look at the numbers:

According to the Dept of Energy, US oil production is at its highest level since 2003.

Any oil that is produced in the US goes into the World Market,not into the US market...unless you want to dictate to industry where they can sell oil...

Currently, there is not a supply issue. Oil prices are subject to polical risk, and there is risk in the middle east, where 60% of oil reserves are located.

[rightbehind]

No matter how much we drill baby drill the oil automatically belongs to the "world market". The republicans have signed away our coastlines to off shore global tax havens. Much of the oil pumped in the gulf heads straight for the panama canal and on to china. The US exports as much oil as it imports. Want proof just do a search for US oil exports.

[noneoftheabove1955]

It seems obvious the current rise in gas/oil prices is not linked to supply and demand. Saudia Arabia has increased oil production to compensate for the loss from Libya. Supply has not been decreased in the last year but rather increased. Demand is up slightly but that is more than compensated by the increase in production. The problem isn't lack of oil or lack of drilling. The problem is WALL STREET. The same people who caused an economic meltdown of historical proportions then took govt. bailout money, then gave themselves obscene bonuses and still racked up record profits. Now that there is, perhaps, a little recovery. A little more money available to the middle class. They once again find a way to suck that money out of our wallets and into the rich investors pockets. The investment industry is still out of control, still damaging our economy. Even if more drilling is approved and our reserves are tapped, no matter how much supply may increase, this speculation in the futures market will continue to drive prices up. That is until that economic bubble also collapses. The true value of products and services, be that bad loans or oil futures, eventually destroys the inflated value caused by investor speculation. Unless something is done to curb this speculation we will see another stock market crash. Yet another big economic downturn.

[realist51]

good facts here NOFTA. just how many on the right will actually believe you is the real question. the next is how many on the left will really push for canning the oil subsidies and using that 19 billion to subsidies the electric car/hybrid industry? wind power industry and solar industry here in our nation to help create jobs and reduce our dependence on oil. just seen a show the other night that said we have an average energy efficenciy rating of 66% while countries like china and japan mandate over 90%. if tax cuts for energy up grades were brought back this would help an ailing housing market some. all in all it would be a win win instead of just drilling for more oil

[167irishboy]

You know what's funny? There are really dumb people out there that believe that American oil companies would give Americans a substantial long term price cut if we allow them to pave our National Forests and create oil boom towns. The oil industry is about as evil as it gets people. Joe Regular guy is going to work like a slave to barely afford food, gas, etc. while less then 1% of the population laughs about how dumb we are by believing Republicans are for the little guy.

War after war after war that Republican President unneccessarily involved us in is why this country is broke. I wonder what the miles per gallon is for a tank or a C130 cargo plane?